It is part of the reason the chief executive, Travis Kalanick, announced on Tuesday he will take a leave of absence.
It is also the reason Uber hosted a company-wide meeting on Tuesday to address a 13-page report from its investigation into workplace sexism with several ethical changes suggested.
At the meeting itself, it was plain to see how embedded the cultural problem is.
Uber board member Arianna Huffington delivered a speech about the appointment of Nestle executive, Wan Ling Martello, to the company board. She outlined her optimism about having another female in a position of power.
According to audio from the meeting that was leaked to Yahoo Finance, billionaire board member David Bonderman had another contribution on the subject.
So… This just happened at @Uber's all-hands meeting. @YahooFinance's @JPManga got some leaked audio. 6:40 min https://t.co/QHXOp7TU0h pic.twitter.com/bqBLonNp49
— Julia La Roche (@JuliaLaRoche) June 13, 2017
HUFFINGTON: There’s a lot of data that shows when there’s one woman on the board, it’s much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board.
BONDERMAN: Actually what it shows is it’s much likely to be more talking.
HUFFINGTON: Oh. Come on, David.
It has to be heard to be believed.
Board members are broadly appointed for their mix of judgement, acumen and professional skills.
What type of judgement could lead an individual to believe that making a sexist joke, at a company wide event with the sole purpose of addressing sexism, is remotely appropriate?
https://twitter.com/b_fung/status/874739861965635584
David Bonderman has issued a public apology to Huffington and all Uber employees “who were offended” by his remark.
It is cold comfort.
Culture starts at the top. An @Uber board member cracks a joke about those "talking" #womenonboards. #Uber #corpgov https://t.co/vaI3dlq4Uj
— Kirstin Ferguson (@kirstinferguson) June 13, 2017
As former Microsoft MD, Pip Marlow, expressed on Twitter earlier on Wednesday, “It is those types of comments that impact how welcome women or others feel”.
Board member and creator of #CelebratingWomen, Dr Kirstin Ferguson, agreed.
Agree. And it reveals such a deeply held, ingrained bias that negates women's contributions in a professional capacity. Depressing.
— Kirstin Ferguson (@kirstinferguson) June 13, 2017
Companies and executives can release reports on tackling sexism. They can implement better processes for dealing with sexual harassment. They can publicly commit to doing better and they can appoint more women to senior positions.
None of that will make a sliver of difference when it occurs in a cultural context that condones and perpetuates sexism.
David Bonderman has revealed that is the context Uber operates in. Because if he can openly ‘joke’ about women talking too much at a public meeting designed to address sexism, imagine what he might be inclined to joke about behind closed doors?